


Filling The Void

by FireFaceOutlook



Series: Eye Contact - Ace x Sabo, Soul Mate AU [3]
Category: One Piece
Genre: All parts can be read seperately, Lame title is lame, M/M, Part 3, Soul Mate AU, enjoy anyways!, mentions of Marineford
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-28
Updated: 2016-10-28
Packaged: 2018-08-27 10:40:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8398396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FireFaceOutlook/pseuds/FireFaceOutlook
Summary: Sometime after the events of Dressrosa, after parting with his precious little brother, Sabo has a dream where he's faced with Ace – not the Ace who he'd known as a child, but the Ace who had died without knowing that he still had two brothers.





	

**Author's Note:**

> **A/N: So this is part three of a Soul Mate AU for Ace and Sabo. In this universe, you don't see colors until you make eye contact with your soulmate and when your soulmate dies, the color goes away. You don't have to read the first two parts to understand this, but so no one's confused, at the end of the second part, Sabo gets his colors back after he eats Ace's Devil Fruit.**

“Sabo _-kun_ , are you alright?”

Koala's soft voice broken through Sabo's clouded thoughts. He realized that he'd been staring blankly at the table, his final plate of food only half consumed. He looked over at his friend, offering a smile he didn't quite feel met his usual standards.

“Yeah, I'm fine,” he assured her before lifting his plate to make it simpler to scarf down the rest of his meal. “I'm just a little tired,” he added after swallowing.

Truth be told, ever since the Colosseum, a steadily building headache had bloomed and just thinking about it caused it to send a spiteful throb of pain arching through his head.

“I think I'm going to take a nap,” he decided, setting down his cleared plate, standing and snagging his hat off the edge of the table.

“Okay. Goodnight, Sabo _-kun_!”

He nodded and made his way to his quarters. Once inside, he tossed his hat onto his paper-strewn desk and let himself fall onto the bed against the far wall, not bothering to take any of his clothes – not even his shoes – off as he let his body relax on the refreshingly cool blankets (and he hoped he wasn't getting sick again).

After a moment, Sabo rolled onto his back and kicked off his shoes, spreading himself out on the bed. He simply breathed as he gazed at the ceiling. Then his attention was redirected to one of his gloved hands as he lifted it. He peeled off the glove, letting it drop over the edge of his bed to join his shoes, then he reached within himself, searching out the source of eternal warmth that had manifested not long ago. Once he found it, he tugged it to the surface and watched as sparks flickered between his fingers before flames curled around the base of his wrist and climbed until they were stretching past his fingertips.

After Dressrosa, with the adrenaline gone, Sabo had found it frustratingly difficult to control the fire compared to when he used it in fights. But laying alone and relaxed in his quarters, he was able to prevent the flames from getting out of hand. He briefly wondered how long it took Ace to learn to control the Mera Mera no Mi ability, but he pushed the thought out of his mind immediately, flames flickering as a melancholy pang struck his heart. With nothing to distract himself with, he found it immensely difficult to even think of his deceased brother and soulmate without being overwhelmed by guilt for not remembering him (and Luffy) and not being able to save him...

Sabo closed his eyes and clenched his hand into a fist, quenching the fire before rolling onto his side. He didn't often sleep like that, but being eagle-spread would just remind him of sleeping in the treehouse with his brothers. It took a few moments of minimal shifting to get comfortable enough to drift off.

  


_When Sabo opened his eyes, he expected to still be sprawled on his bed after a dreamless nap, but he sat up in surprise when he found himself in the middle of a grassy landscape. A quick glance around revealed that every horizon seemed to stretch on forever, yet end with a pale light, as if the earth dropped off at each edge. Slowly getting to his feet, Sabo scratched his head, noting that he didn't have his hat but he had his pipe, and began walking forward. He was fairly certain that he'd only been walking for a few minutes but no matter how many steps he took, he got no closer to the source of light. He finally stopped, wondering just where he was (was he dreaming?) and why. Then a presence was behind him. He turned quickly, pipe drawn and in motion to attack the stranger, but his weapon was abruptly stopped, trapped in a firm grasp. Sabo couldn't care less about his pipe, however; his grip loosened and his eyes widened as he took in the man before him. Ace looked just like he had in every newspaper and Surveillance Den Den Mushi recording Sabo had gotten ahold of, except for one new addition: a rough, pink starburst scar in the center of his chest, where he'd been punched through by Akainu. Sabo was sure a matching scar marred the Jolly Roger of Whitebeard that had been tattooed onto Ace's back._

_“A-Ace,” Sabo stammered, startling himself with how rough his voice sounded._

_Ace had been scrutinizing him, but when he spoke, the grey eyes suddenly filled with disbelief and elation; not a hint of malice was to be seen and when Ace pulled Sabo into a hug, the blond realized that, like Luffy, Ace wasn't angry with his abrupt return (even if it was just in a dream, it made Sabo feel better)._

_After hugs were exchanged and Sabo made Ace blush by teasing him about the tattoo on his arm, they laid side-by-side in the grass, exchanging stories. Sabo felt like he was a million miles away and couldn't help but wonder when he got enough of an imagination to guess how Ace would describe his nakama or what certain adventures not posted in the newspaper the Whitebeard Pirates went on._

_Ace evidently picked up on the fact that Sabo was distracted and stopped recalling stories, instead asking what was wrong. Sabo didn't reply, gazing forlornly at the too pale sky. He wondered when he would wake up. (He also wondered if he_ wanted _to wake up.)_

_“Sabo.”_

_The Revolutionary tore his gaze away from the misty blue above and instead turned his attention to his brother, who was now sitting up and looking over with a contemplative expression._

_“...yeah, Ace?” Sabo prompted when the freckled man didn't say anything._

_“This isn't a dream,” Ace finally breathed._

_Sabo stared, unsure of how to react to such an outrageous claim, until the apparition seated next to him averted his eyes._

_“Well, I mean... Obviously it's a_ dream _, but I really am alive.”_

_Sabo felt his eyes stinging with oncoming tears as he, too, glanced away. “Sure,” he responded under his breath._

_He heard a loud groan and turned back to find Ace on his back again, hands covering his face._

_“I knew I should've told you after I figured out who you were...” Ace uncovered his face and locked eyes with Sabo, expression serious. Then he began to recount the events of Marineford with as much detail as Ivankov, but from a more personal perspective and Sabo found that he couldn't help but begin to believe that it was truly Ace with him. “I woke up a couple days ago, buried in the ground. It took a good, strong **Hibashira*** to get out.”_

_He looked a little crestfallen for a moment. “I saw Pops' grave next to my own... Marco must've been devastated...”_

_The last bit seemed more spoken to himself, so Sabo dismissed it._

_“My Devil Fruit was regrown, wasn't it?” It was said less like a question and more like a statement. “Who got it? I..._ felt _when someone else got my abilities.”_

_Sabo smiled sheepishly, lifting his hand (which was gloved again) and igniting it. It seemed easier to control the flames in the dream land. Ace's eyes lit up, every hint of apprehension for the answer vanishing as he mirrored his brother with his opposite hand and triggered his own fire. Sabo's eyes widened as Ace took his hand, their flames merging and radiating a bright light and warmth that almost seemed to represent their fate-bound souls. Sabo found his eyes watering again, not out of despair this time, and a smile graced his lips. Ace grinned brightly in return and pulled Sabo into a hug, still clutching his hand._

_“It's okay. I'm here.” Ace squeezed Sabo. “I'm waiting for you. I'll stay right **here** , okay?”_

_The dream landscape was beginning to glow as bright as the edges had been. Sabo guessed that meant they – or one of them – were waking up. Sabo held onto Ace tighter._

_“You'll be where?” he asked desperately._

_Ace laughed as it became too bright for Sabo to see anything._

_“You know where!”_

  


Sabo jolted upright in bed, staring blankly in front of him for a moment before pushing himself off the bed and out the door, calling loudly and excitedly for Koala; they had a change in course to take before they got too far.

  


Ace slowly opened his eyes, sitting up and turning his attention to the open ocean that stretched to the horizon. He gently placed a hand flat over the scar on his chest, feeling his inner flame tugging in a certain direction, and he was sure it was pulling Sabo to him. He smiled at the thought and laid back down, pulling his hat over his face. A nap sounded like a nice way to spend his time waiting for his soulmate, and where better to nap than in the presence of his late Pops and his lost comrades?

**Author's Note:**

> **A/N: *one of Ace's attacks, it means “Pillar of Fire”; Sabo doesn't quite register at first that Ace has his abilities still because of the shock that Ace might be alive.**   
>  **Also, I don't have much of a logical explanation for Ace's resurrection, except maybe since Sabo and Ace's souls were connected and Ace's soul was also connected to his Devil Fruit, so when Sabo gained Ace's Devil Fruit ability, he had part of Ace's soul and that brought Ace back to life? You decide. Enjoy!**


End file.
